BREAKING: Boston Red Sox Fire Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom
In a surprising move, the Boston Red Sox have fired Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom. The announcement came just an hour before the first pitch of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees.
Bloom was hired ahead of the 2020 season with high expectations for the team. However, under his leadership, the Red Sox consistently underperformed at the big-league level, missing the postseason two out of the last three years. While the team reached the American League Championship Series in 2021, this season they are on track to miss the playoffs once again.
In a statement, principal owner John Henry said, “While parting ways is not taken lightly, today signals a new direction for our club. Our organization has significant expectations on the field and while Chaim’s efforts in revitalizing our baseball infrastructure have helped set the stage for the future, we will today begin a search for new leadership.”
Despite helping to rebuild the farm system from a bottom-10 system to a top-10 system, Bloom’s tenure with the Red Sox was overshadowed by the controversial trade of Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 2020.
The Betts trade, along with the team’s lackluster performance and several last-place finishes, led to growing frustration within the fanbase and declining attendance numbers.
CEO Sam Kennedy acknowledged the disappointment, saying, “We need to be competitive, we need to be playing for a postseason spot, playing meaningful games in September and playing baseball in October. There’s blame to go around. …We all fell short of our collective goals.”
In addition to Bloom’s firing, general manager Brian O’Halloran was offered a new senior leadership position within the baseball operations department, effectively ending his tenure as general manager. O’Halloran, who has been with the organization since 2002, has not yet accepted the new position.
The search for new baseball operations leadership will begin immediately, and in the meantime, O’Halloran and assistant general managers Eddie Romero, Raquel Ferreira, and Michael Groopman will oversee day-to-day operations.
Former Red Sox and Chicago Cubs GM Theo Epstein has been ruled out as a candidate for the job, according to Kennedy.
The changes in the front office raise questions about the future of manager Alex Cora and the coaching staff. While Kennedy expressed his expectation for Cora to return next season, he did not provide further details.
The Red Sox organization will be looking for strong leadership to steer the team in a new direction and bring them back to postseason success.